Dear colleagues,

We, the Home Office interpreters are dedicated qualified professionals working for the UKVI on a freelance basis.

We, the Home Office interpreters receive £80 for the first 3 hours and £16 per hour for every consecutive hour. If we are required to travel for work, we receive no travel time for up to 6 hours return journey. Every other governmental organisation or private agency compensates interpreters for travel time and travel expenses accordingly. Interpreters who are based in London in particular spend up to £13 for travel expenses that cannot be claimed.

We suggest that the UKVI department of the Home Office needs to take responsibility in compensating UKVI interpreters fairly and offer competitive rates. In addition, the a minimum wage has doubled since 2001 and civil servants receive regular pay rise in times of rising inflation, hence it is only fair to increase the hourly rate of UKVI interpreters who seem to have no employment rights under the label of sub-contractor.

We kindly request from the Home Office a minimum pay of £120 for the first 4 hours (which is the equivalent of more than a full interview as per recent changes) and £30 per subsequent hour.

We the UKVI interpreters take pride in acting with integrity and dedication, hence we sincerely hope the Home Office will reflect the same and show us appreciation by accepting our request.

We value our relationship and we hope we can maintain it for the foreseeable future.

The UKVI interpreters